Boom or Bust (a review of Can't Stop)

The board taunts you after each roll. Stop. If you stop, you'll be safe. Your opponents taunt you in the other direction. Just keep rolling. You're probably okay. And you're caught in the middle. If you quit now, you may open up opportunities for your opponents to steal the game from under you. But if you keep going, you might lose your progress and have to start over next turn.

But the game is aptly named. You just...can't...stop.

Sign of the Times (a Review of Elder Sign)

Strange things are happening at the museum.  Signs and fearsome portents betray the stirring of some ancient evil.  Horrific creatures have been spotted roaming where they should not be.  Though many are blind to the coming darkness, a few brave and intelligent souls have spotted the clues and decided to study the madness, search for its cause, and prevent the mighty and destructive Ancient Ones from breaking back into our world to wipe out all of humanity.

In Elder Sign, you will take on the role of one of these adventurers, and attempt to work with your companions to find out what is happening and seal the coming portal to have any hope of putting an end to this legendary evil.

Dungeon Rollin' (A Review of Dungeon Roll)

Dungeoneering is a popular venue for tabletop gaming.  Many RPGs, including the famous Dungeons & Dragons, center around building adventuring parties and delving into the unknown to vanquish monsters and recover lost treasure.  Board and card games have attempted to capture these quests in a variety of forms, from epic miniature based games to humorous card games.

Dungeon Roll is one such game, which attempts to use dice and push-your-luck elements to consolidate the dungeon delving experience into a short, but exciting game.

The Invasion is Coming! (A Review of Martian Dice)

Fortunately it comes in English and Squiggly

Martian incursions on the planet Earth are the subject of many geek discussions, conspiracy theories, and science-fiction franchises. Have they visited? If so, why?

In Martian Dice, players will get a chance to answer these questions by taking on the roles of the Martians and exploring the motivations, the cultural backgrounds, and the scientific expenditures that would bring them to Earth the capture and experiment on humans and animals.

Just kidding. You're just going to roll a fistful of dice and try to capture as many humans, cows, and chickens as martianly possible while fending off tanks so that you survive.

Are You Ready for Some Football? (A Review of 1st and Goal)

Are you a loyal fan of the home town team?  If so, no doubt you bleed the home colors and root for your boys (or girls) through think and thin, victory and defeat, glory and agony.  But yet, every so often (or more), watching your team on the TV, you just know that you could play better or make smarter decisions.  If only you were calling the shots and given the chance to slip that jersey on and get in the game.  Well, now is your chance!  R&R Games’ family-friendly design puts you in charge on the sidelines.  Make the call to roll, pass, and kick your way to victory!

Put Your Blue Genes On (A Review of Genegrafter)

If intense stares could kill...

Evolve or perish.

These words conclude the story introduction to the card game Genegrafter, an introduction that promises a tense standoff between various factions of genetically enhanced superhumans.  Set in a futuristic cyberpunk world where these supers are starting to take over, Genegrafter gives you the opportunity to build your own faction of combatants and attempt to wipe out your opponents.

Does it succeed?

One Olive a Game (A Review of Cinque Terre)

At least I didn’t say it was a lemon!  This little game won’t mushroom out of control or leave you with sour grapes.  There’s no squashing your opponents or other rotten tomatoes to throw.  But still, it can prove to be a little bit like garlic, with a few layers to peel back for nuance and flavor.  And then there are oranges, which I can’t think of a pithy comment at the moment, but they’re in the game, too.  No matter, you can trade in any or all of these goods as you peddle your produce around the circuit of five villages; or Cinque Terre.

This Game is Watching You (An Interview with Jamey Stegmaier)

Jamey Stegmaier has a strong passion for creating games that bring people together in the spirit of fun, competition, and strategic thinking. With a lifelong enthusiasm for playing and designing board games, he runs the business side of StonemaierGames along with Alan Stone. Together through their start-up company, the two produced Jamey’s first published title, Viticulture. Stonemaier Games is seeking to publish Jamey’s latest design, Euphoria: Build a Better Dystopia. Their Kickstarter campaign funded in, like, one hour (it was beast!), but it will still run through June 12. If you'd like to participate, there are still plenty of stretch goals to aim for and lots of neat-looking stuff that you can get in on! We asked Jamey a few questions about this title, and he was gracious enough to talk with us.

3:10 to Euro (a Review of Dark Horse)

You may be familiar with the famous words of American Manifest Destiny, “Go West, young man!”  I’m pretty sure Horace Greely had this game in mind when he wrote that.  A limitless frontier lay open for hard-working, honest, and romantic pioneers, just like in Dark Horse.  Vast tracts of fertile land lay free for claiming, teeming with a wealth of resources ripe for the picking, just like in Dark Horse.  Only the resolute and determined will stamp their industrious legacy upon the virgin wilderness, just like in Dark Horse.  Are you up to the task of taming the Wild West?  Harness the land’s resources to found cities and towns, while building a network of railroads to link them all together.  Rewarding toil, adventure, liberty, and victory points can all be yours!

Frantic, Fun Fleeing (a review of Escape: The Curse of the Temple)

You never really know another person until your relationship is tested--as, for example, when you are running for your lives to escape from a cursed Mayan temple as it is about to crash down around you. Will the other person return to offer a helping hand when your tools are accursed? Or will they strive to save their own skin? These are questions it would be good to know the answers to in advance.

Thank goodness for Escape: The Curse of the Temple, which will allow you to test the strength of your relationships before you face a real life-or-death crisis. But is this an adventure worth taking? Find out below!

Down in the Depths (A Review of Dungeon)

Role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons are enjoyable because they give you a chance to take on the role of a hero and go on adventures to fight monsters and find some treasure. Unfortunately, they usually take lots of preparation and many hours.

In Dungeon!, a recent rerelease of a classic game, players are given the opportunity to snatch up a quick hero, dive into a winding maze of a dungeon, kill a stack of monsters, and snatch up some treasure, all in a game that should take about thirty minutes. Does this game succeed in condensing RPG combat into a simple, quick system that is still enjoyable to play? Read on!

The King Is Not Dead, He Just Went To Tokyo (A Review of King of Tokyo)

Sometimes, when you play a game, you’re looking for a cerebral, strategic experience. You want to make plans, counter your opponents, and conquer the world.

At other times, though, you just want to go on a monster rampage, fighting and destroying your friends and the city of Tokyo in a matter of minutes. Fortunately, for these times, we have Richard Garfield’s King of Tokyo.

Planting Pips (a review of Garden Dice)

Kickstarter called 2012 "the year of the game," and with the number of successfully funded board game projects this year, that moniker seems apt. But it's not just the funding that's happening in 2012: the games are rolling out as well, and Garden Dice is one of the newest available from this crop. But is it worth grabbing your spade or hoe? Check out the review below!

Once Upon the Burg (A Review of Kingsburg)

It's a very lovely burg...

Sometimes you're competing to be king.  Sometimes you are the king, trying to subdue your neighbors.  And sometimes you're just trying to rule as much of the king's land as possible.

But in Kingsburg, you're out to expand the King's land, power, and prosperity.  You are one of the King's chosen leaders, sent out to tame the lands, build civilization, and destroy evil monsters.  In this case, though, you're not alone - the King and his advisors mean to help you as much as they can along the way.  Does this game have a glorious bounty, or will the kingdom crumble to dust?

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss (a review of Stone Age)

The game set up for four players

Dice are most of the time anathema to Euro gamers. The numbered cubes are seen as the center of luck-driven games. Almost all of us have a tale to tell of knocking on the door of Irkutsk with a giant army only to be fended off by a few lucky rolls.

So it's with fear and trepidation that I approach a Euro game that integrates a heavy dice element. Such, for example, was how I approached Stone Age. Was my fear merited? Check out my review below!

Dicing through Africa (a preview of DiceAFARI)

Kickstarter has been a hotbed of activity recently, with new designers and projects as prevalent as the fast-flowing backer funds. But it's not just the unpublished who are turning to Kickstarter for a boost. Established companies have been using the platform as well to fund their projects.

One of these projects is DiceAFARI, a new dice game from Stratus Games. (We loved their Eruption, which came out earlier this year.) Stratus Games, in a bold (and genius) move, has made the prototype of DiceAFARI available to anyone who wants to give the game a try. Below are our impressions.

[Ed. note: This is a preview of a non-final non-production copy of the game.  Our opinions reflect that of the game at the time we played it; the final product may feature different gameplay, art, and components.  The pictures are of a print-and-play prototype version of the project, with components were robbed from a copy of Agricola.]

[Ed. note 2: Also of interest is the Board Game Geek designer diary by designer Chris James.]

Quarriors Mini-Review

A game that has been on everyone's radar, it seems, is Quarriors. I mentioned that I had the chance to try it at GenCon, and since then, I've played it a few more times. I don't feel comfortable giving the game a full review treatment after my limited number of plays, but I wanted to help you, dear reader, make an informed decision about whether this game is worth your gaming dollars. It's also best if you know at the outset that dice games are not my favorite. I typically favor cube and card games. So, please, take this opinion with heaping spoonfuls of salt. (And if any of my concerns are mitigated by playing the game more, let me know in the comments! I would like to be fair.)